Mumbai’s Mithi River rejuvenation programme received a fresh review from Maharashtra Environment and Climate Change Minister Pankaja Munde, who also assessed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s measures for solid waste management, construction debris and sewage treatment.
Munde chaired the review meeting at the BMC headquarters on Monday. Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide and officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the civic body attended the meeting.
The BMC told the meeting that 255 establishments had registered on the Mumbai Debris Control and Tracking System, or MDCTS. The digital platform is intended to monitor the management, transportation, processing and disposal of construction and demolition waste generated across the city.
The system is designed to improve oversight of debris movement and reduce improper dumping. Construction and demolition waste is a recurring challenge for Mumbai’s civic administration because unregulated disposal can obstruct drains, affect public spaces and add pressure to already congested urban corridors. The BMC did not disclose at the meeting how much debris had been processed through the platform or the number of violations detected.
The civic body is also working to eliminate 231 garbage-vulnerable points across Mumbai. These locations are being addressed as part of the city’s broader solid waste management programme. The BMC is additionally developing projects to generate energy from waste, although details of the proposed projects, including their capacity and implementation schedule, were not provided in the report.
Sewage treatment was another major component of the review. The BMC informed officials that seven sewage treatment plants are expected to become operational in Mumbai by around 2028. The projects are intended to expand the city’s sewage treatment infrastructure and support efforts to improve the management of wastewater before it reaches rivers and other receiving environments.
Munde said the municipal administration was taking effective measures to address Mumbai’s waste management challenges, while stressing that waste segregation needed to improve further. She urged residents to separate waste before handing it over for collection and underlined the role of public participation in maintaining cleanliness.
The meeting also reviewed the phased rejuvenation of the Mithi River. Munde expressed satisfaction with the work being undertaken by the BMC and said the state government was establishing a mechanism to support the rejuvenation of rivers across Maharashtra. The review linked the river programme with sewage treatment and waste management, areas that directly affect the quality and condition of urban waterways.
The meeting’s agenda brought together four connected civic systems: construction debris disposal, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment and river restoration. The immediate milestones identified in the review are the expansion of registrations on the debris tracking platform, the elimination of the 231 garbage-vulnerable points and the expected completion of seven sewage treatment plants by around 2028. The BMC and state government are expected to continue implementing the measures in phases.
